By Dr. Robert C Crowder
Reading:
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Ephesians 2:13-18 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Reflection:
Peace has a name: Jesus. Isaiah called Him the Prince of Peace, and Paul declared that Christ Himself is our peace.[1] This is not merely poetic language or a comforting metaphor. It is a theological reality. Peace is not a condition that Christ creates from a distance; it is inseparable from His Person and His work. Where Christ is, there is peace. To have Christ is to have peace.
The problem of humanity since the fall has been twofold: we are at war with God, and we are at war with one another. Sin created a vertical hostility between holy God and rebellious man. The law revealed the depth of that hostility by showing us God’s perfect standard and our utter failure to meet it. “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” We were enemies of God by nature, children of wrath, alienated and without hope.
But sin also created horizontal hostility. In Paul’s immediate context, the dividing wall was between Jew and Gentile; two peoples separated by law, culture, and centuries of mutual animosity. But the principle extends to every division humanity has known: race, class, nationality, and tribe. Sin fractures human relationships just as it fractures our relationship with God. We cannot have peace with one another because we do not have peace with our Creator.
Into this double hostility came Christ. Paul writes, “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Peace was purchased at the cross. The blood of Jesus Christ satisfied God’s justice, turned away His wrath, and opened the way for man’s reconciliation. This is propitiation; God’s righteous anger against sin fully absorbed by the sinless Son of God. Through His death, Christ removed the legal barrier (our guilt), the moral barrier (our sin nature’s hostility), and the relational barrier (our alienation from God).
But Christ did more than make peace possible; He became our peace. “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.” The ceremonial law, with its ordinances and regulations, was a barrier that kept Jew and Gentile separate. Christ abolished that law in His flesh, not by lowering God’s standard, but by perfectly fulfilling it and nailing its demands to His cross.[2] In doing so, God created “one new man” out of two formerly hostile groups. The church is God’s masterpiece of reconciliation; Jews and Gentiles united in one body through the cross.
Notice the comprehensive nature of this peace: “And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.” The cross slew the enmity. It didn’t negotiate a truce; it killed the hostility at its root. Vertical peace with God makes horizontal peace with others possible. We cannot be reconciled to God if we remain at enmity with our brother. The same blood that reconciles us to the Father reconciles us to one another.
Paul concludes, “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”This is Trinitarian peace: the Father receives us, the Son reconciles us, the Spirit brings us near. Peace flows from the unity of the Godhead into the unity of the body of Christ. We are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household.[3]
Lasting peace cannot be negotiated by diplomats, legislated by governments, or achieved through human effort. It must be received from the One who made peace through His death and resurrection. When we trust in Christ, we receive not just the benefits of peace, but the Prince of Peace Himself dwelling within us. And where He reigns, hostility ends.
Prayer:
- Thank Jesus for being your peace and for tearing down the wall of hostility through His blood.
- Ask Him to let His peace rule in every relationship, conflict, and corner of your life today.
Consider:
Reach out to someone you’ve been avoiding or with whom you’ve had tension. Begin the process of rebuilding peace, not through your own strength, but through prayer and the grace that Christ has shown you. Ask God to give you His heart for reconciliation.
[1] Ephesians 2:14
[2] Colossians 2:14
[3] Galatians 6:10
Robert C. Crowder Ministries 
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